Thank you for posting John!!! I will check it out. Another member on the Frisco website suggested using nylon washers and one other member suggested Tichy Train Group. I have several options now and sure one of them will be the ticket. Joe
These are HO but still might be in the right size for what you are doing... https://www.walthers.com/cable-sheave-w-bearings-43-quot-109cm-diameter-pkg-2 https://www.walthers.com/sheave-head-frame-60-quot-pkg-2 Same products on Grandt's site.... https://www.grandtline.com/for-the-model-railroading/ho-scale-trackside-details/ Here is some of Grandt's N stuff. Even the wagon wheels there might be a candidate... https://www.grandtline.com/for-the-model-railroading/n-scale-model-railroad/ I found these searching for mine related items, Sumner
Thank you for the links Sumner!!! I will check them out and make a decision on what way I want to go, have several options for the lift pulleys. I made a mistake on the north tower, it's too narrow, so I'm making a new tower right now. The old one is about one inch wide and should be two inches wide. Must have had a senior moment in my old age, tomorrow is my 64th birthday. LOL. Joe
I can print this on my printer.... I just drew this up from that picture you posted, and made it 0.70" diameter. But I don't know the thickness or most of the dimensions of everything. However, the drawing program I use is parametric, I can easily change the size of anything with a few clicks. How thick should the wheel be? how thick each "spoke"? Do you need a groove in the face? How thick for the hub, or the axle hole? Took me 10 minutes to draw this up, and it's fun to try printing something new!
Stephane, the thickness I need would be 0.100 inch. Other than that everything looks perfect the way it is. All of the other dimensions are not as critical. Would you be willing to print six for me? Let me know how much you want for them. Thank you for posting!!! Joe
Okay, I reduced the width to 0.1", and cut in two grooves to make it more pulley like. The axle hole is about 0.078" in case you were wondering. However 3D printing is not exact, it always turns out a tiny bit bigger. I'll print it tomorrow after work, so I should have a picture of it by tomorrow or Tuesday. I don't want anything for this, I've learned some really nice things just reading through your thread. Just be patient while I get a print - it's the first time printing something round and it's going to be a nice learning experience! Oh, if you don't like the grooves, let me know and I'll delete them before the print - I was just seeing if I could actually do it with the software - always learning new things!
Nice Stephane, what software and printer are you using? I've been off and on if I need to get into this. The more videos I've seen the more it is getting into I need to try this. I've used SketchUp to some degree in the past, Sumner
Thank you so much for doing this!!! I don't need the grooves, the pulley you have designed is the end plate for a spool. There will be one plate on each end of a center hub where the cable will be wound. Kind of like a spool of thread. Joe
My printer is the anycubic photon, and I use Fusion 360, hobbyist license (non commercial use only). Compared to others I've seen, I'm an amateur at this, but I love being able to print details I want instead of buying ready made stuff. I just sliced the model and sent it off to the printer. Estimated time to print is about two and a half hours, but I'll be in bed by the time it finishes. I'll post some pictures tomorrow. I do have an ulterior motive though.... I bought a new ultrasonic cleaner for my 3d printing and I've been waiting for a chance to try it out!
Stephane, these are going to be fantastic, they match the photo perfect. Looking forward to seeing them tomorrow. Thank you so much!!! Joe
Just a quick teaser fuzzy snapshot I took before leaving for work The print is still hanging in the printer, slick with gooey resin. I'll clean and post-process the print tonight after work!
Very cool!! You might be the final act in getting me to go ahead with seriously considering getting a printer. I've also put it off since I didn't want to learn a new CAD program. I can get things done with SetchUp but SketchUp Make doesn't create STL files only DAE files but yesterday I downloaded Ultimaker Cura and see than it works with the DAE files. I created something with SketchUp and exported it to Cura and it came right up so I could at least start with SketchUp now and decide if I wanted to learn something else later. So how do you like your printer? I see it gets good reviews. Would you buy another or look at something else? I've also seen the Creality Ender 3 Pro get good reviews. I don't want to clutter up Joe's thread here anymore so maybe PM me or start a new post (I'll bet others would also be interested in your opinion), Sumner
Stephane, would you be willing to work on another 3D printed project? I'm working on a scratch built model of the Frisco Ft Smith Depot as it looked in 1948 and there are some columns on one end that have some decorative stone work on the top. I will have to figure out how big the columns are and get back to you on the exact dimensions along with a photo, should be around three inches tall. Joe
Okay, so I have some photos! It turns out okay. The top of the wheel came out pretty good actually, though as expected, there are some layer lines. Can't really get away from that in resin 3D printing. But on the plus side, resin plastic is very easy to sand. So with a good pair of magnifying specs, files and some fine sanding sticks/paper it can be made to look even better. The problem is as always the underside. Basically, Sumner above was kind enough to reverse the orientation of my photo, however what he didn't realize is that the picture was not upside down . The print happens upside down, with the build plate lowering into the vat of resin to print the next layer. However, on the portions of the model that is facing towards the sky, resin has a tendency to pool in the cracks and crevices and stray UV light ends up curing this resin partially, causing the "bloating". A problem that has plagued me since I started printing! The grey resin I currently use is very durable (it will bend a bit before breaking), but it has this tendency to bloat a bit on the underside of the print. The best resin I found that did not bloat as much would be the original Anycubic translucent green. However it's very brittle and won't bend at all before just breaking. Anyway, enough of that, and on to the pics (I've hijacked this thread more than enough already! Sumner, I'll PM you a bit more about resin printing) So, this is how they look on their good side (they still need a bit of sanding here and there, I just did a quick job)... And on their reverse side (I don't know why the resin always looks more shiny on the "bloated" side). The good news is if I understand it right, you'll be hiding the bad side towards the centre of the spool, so might not even be visible much. As for the columns, can't promise much, but show me the photo and I'll see what I can do - it just depends on how long it will take me to draw up the model in Fusion 360. But if it's relatively easy, I don't see why not
Yep, I realized that later when researching the printer and seeing it wasn't a filament type printer . Great job on the pieces for Joe and I'll look forward to the PM when you find time. I have done more research on the resin printers today, Sumner
Stephane, they look fantastic, thank you for printing them. I will send you my address on the PM you started. The Ft Smith Depot has ten columns and will need to be 1.75 inches tall and 0.20 inches in diameter at the base, 0.17 at the top. The decorative stone on top of the columns is 0.20 wide and 0.20 tall. Hope the photos show enough details for you to work with. An exact reproduction is not that important. I will make the pedestals the columns are sitting on. Joe
I hope you're not in too much of a hurry for the depot columns. The column themselves are real easy, but did give those winged swirly bits on top a bit of a try. Forty minutes later and that bit is beyond my current ability, or I'm not figuring out the right operations. But now I'm curious, and it's become a bit of a puzzle. I still want to try it again when I get a free moment here and there. On Wednesdays I usually bring my daughter to her dance class, and since I bring my laptop, it's usually the time when I doodle in Fusion 360 while waiting. In the meantime, I'll send out the wheels and looking forward to seeing new progress on your bridge building
Thank you Stephane!!! The columns are something that can be added after the main building is done. I need more windows for the Depot model so it's on hold right now. Joe
